Out of Left Field (Pit Bulls Baseball #5)

Chapter 1

Cici

“I don’t want to go to this meeting,” I groan, stopping at Aunt Logan’s desk.

She grins up at me and I think about all of the times she’s helped me get out of things I didn’t want to do over the years. She used to make up excuses and we’d make a dash for it. She’ll always be the fun aunt.

“I could tell them shark week just hit.” She taps her chin as she continues to think.

“No, Uncle Parker will look at me weird for the next week if you tell him that. I swear the last time he didn’t meet my gaze when we spoke for a whole seven days.

And he’d run out of the room as quickly as possible.

I think some of the employees thought I had an infectious disease based on how he was behaving. ”

“Yeah, he’s weird with that time of the month. Imagine how Mia feels! She got her period for the first time when I was out of town. To this day, I think she still has PTSD over how Parker reacted.” Logan grins.

“What else is an option?”

“I could tell them you’re throwing up, but you do not want Lucas catching wind of that.” She shakes her head with wide eyes. “The day I threw up at work… I’m not sure I’ll ever forget it. Definitely not a day I want to repeat.”

“Aunt Logan,” I groan, rolling my eyes. “What do I do?”

“You could get your butt in here and act like the adult people around here think you are,” Uncle Parker calls through the open door.

“I'm sorry, we’re having a private conversation!” I call back. “It’s rude for you to interrupt us.”

Footsteps move closer to the door and then Uncle Parker’s leaning his shoulder against the threshold and stares at me. His arms are folded over his chest and his ankles are crossed. He looks every bit of the ruthless businessman everyone knows and fears.

“It’s rude for you to talk so loudly outside of my office and not include me in the conversation,” he fires back.

“But I didn’t want to talk to you. Hence the private conversation.”

“Yeah, this is an A-B conversation, so C your way out of it,” Aunt Logan adds, making both of us sigh.

“Babe, you’re stuck in the nineties. No one says that anymore.” Uncle Parker chuckles, his voice softening when he turns towards Aunt Logan. That man is obsessed with his wife. “What’s going on, Cici?”

“Private conversation,” I singsong, knowing it will make him angry.

“Sometimes I swear you’re biologically Owen’s kid. There’s no way you came from me.” Uncle Parker sighs and scrubs a hand down his face.

I laugh as I think about his comment. Though I'm the proud daughter of Owen Powell, my dad couldn’t have children after an accident that left him sterile.

Since Uncle Parker and Aunt Logan weren’t planning on having children, Parker happily donated his sperm to make sure Mom and Dad could still have kids.

They ended up with twins. Myself and my twin brother, Cord.

It’s almost comical that we share Uncle Parker’s DNA. We look nothing like him. Cord somehow looks like a spitting image of Dad and I favor Mom’s appearance. And we definitely act more like Dad. If you didn’t know we weren’t biologically related to Owen Powell, you’d never be able to tell.

“Do you want me to start calling you Daddy instead of Uncle Parker?” I blink up at him innocently.

“Absolutely not,” he growls. “But if you don’t tell me why you’re trying to get out of this meeting, I'm going to call your daddy and tell him you’re being a brat and he needs to come take over his position at Scott, Powell, and Coleman again.”

“I think that would be more of a punishment for you.” I wrinkle up my nose. “Are you sure you want the infamous Owen Powell back in my office?”

“Cici,” he growls. I know he’s beyond done with me and if I don’t spill the information soon, he’s going to get really angry.

“Fine!” I throw my hands up in the air and let them fall to my sides again. “I don't want to have a meeting with Josh. Every time I do, he tries to flirt with me and asks me out. I don’t want to deal with it today. I have enough work to keep me busy for two weeks laying on my desk.”

“Hey, I’ll come with you to the meeting and we’ll figure this out.

” Parker steps away from the door frame and places a hand on my back.

Gone is the annoyed boss and in his place is the caring uncle I’ve always adored.

“As far as the work on your desk, give some of it to me and some to Luke. Logan can probably handle some of it too.”

“No, I'm not trying to pawn off my work on other people.” I keep my chin held high and my shoulders back.

“I wasn’t implying you were.” A soft smile spreads across Uncle Parker’s face. “We love having you here, sweetheart. You’re amazing at your job and you’re always willing to take on extra responsibilities and help us when we’re overwhelmed with our workload, let us do the same. We’re a team.”

“Ok,” I whisper. As much as I don’t want to accept his help, I know if I don’t, I’ll be here every night for the next week until well after ten o’clock. I love my job and this company, but I don’t want it to become my life.

“Good. Now, let’s get to the meeting with this idiot.” A scowl settles between his brows. “You always meet with him alone, correct?”

“Yes. His department is one of the ones I’m in charge of. We do weekly meetings to make sure we’re on track.”

“Ok.” He nods his head and I know he’s working through what to do. “I’ll make sure I'm there for your meetings or Luke is. If that doesn’t help, you can take over one of the departments I head up and I’ll take this one.”

“Thanks, Uncle Parker.”

“Anything for you, sweetheart.” He presses a gentle kiss to the top of my head, then pushes open the door to the conference room.

Josh’s eyes widen as he sees Uncle Parker walk in first. He relaxes a little bit when he sees me follow him in.

“Hey, Cici. It’s nice to see you again.” The sly smile spreading across his face makes me want to rush to my office and take as hot of a shower as I can.

I give him a tight-lipped smile and take a seat next to Uncle Parker. I wish I could hide behind him and let him deal with this entire meeting.

“Ok, can you give me an update on where the department is with the marketing for the Roger’s account?”

Scott, Powell, and Coleman have expanded since Dad worked here.

I graduated with a master’s degree in business and marketing.

I wanted to bring marketing to the company since that’s what I love to do.

Uncle Parker and Uncle Luke loved the idea and jumped at the chance to bring something new to the company.

They’ve let me lead most of it since it was my idea, but they’re always willing to step in and help when I need it.

“We’re ahead of schedule. We should have a plan ready for them by the end of the day.”

“Perfect. What about Rockwell?” I jot down information on the pad of paper I always carry with me at work.

“Rockwell isn't going as well as we had planned. I was thinking we could discuss it over dinner tonight.” His smile widens even more, making me sick to my stomach.

“Not happening,” Uncle Parker growls.

“Oh, I wasn’t implying you should come with us, sir. I think Cici and I could handle it.” His brows draw together as he tries to regain control of the situation.

“I know what you were implying, Josh. Miss Powell isn't interested in working with you outside of this office building. On anything. You are her employee. Someone she has complete control over firing if you speak to her inappropriately again.”

“Sir, I wasn’t-” he sputters, but Uncle Parker cuts him off.

“I’m not an idiot and I don’t tolerate unwanted flirting in my company.

There will be a note placed in your employee file.

This is your one and only warning. If you flirt with Miss Powell again or imply you should work together outside of this building, I will personally fire you.

Is that understood?” Uncle Parker arches a brow.

“Yes, sir.” Josh ducks his head and refuses to meet my gaze.

The rest of the meeting is quicker than any other meeting I’ve ever attended.

Josh hurries to answer every question and he glances at his watch more than a few times.

I think he’s shifted uncomfortably in his chair at least every twenty seconds.

It’s almost comical seeing the change in him. This is someone I could work with.

I just want respect. I don’t want people thinking they can get away with things or sweet talk me into something I don’t want, just because I'm a woman. I need to make sure I place clear boundaries before it becomes an issue. Make sure everyone knows I'm not someone to mess with.